The Sun. — London, England, 1864-02-10 00:00:00

I:‘,r once by this country in the civil war now raging in caiul was unnecessary and impolitic. (Hear, hear.) ELECTION PETITIONS. Mr. HUNT gave notice that he would move for leave to bring in a bill to amend the law relating to election peti- FOG SIGNALS. t ions. Mr. DAWSON asked the President of the Board of Trade, whether, in consequence of the numerous marine disasters that have taken place at the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, any plans for the erection of powerful fog signals in the vicinity of Cape Race,Newfoundland, had yet been approved of by the Board of Trade; and whether any expectation may be held out that such precautionary beacons may be in early operation. Mr. M. GIBSON said that the Trinity Corporation had for some time been anxious to establish fog signals at Cape Race, but up to the present time had failed in discovering any invention by which sound could be conveyed from land to vessels at a certain distance at sea that would be avail- able. THE RUMOURED DISSATISFACTION AT COPENHAGEN. in reply to Mr. PEACOCX_E, Lord PALMERSTON said he had seen a statement in the papers that great dissatisfaction prevailed in Copen agen as to the retreat of the Danish troops, from Dane - wirke ; and although the Government had no official in formation on the subject, there was no doubt the inhabitants of Copenhagen felt great dissatisfaction in regard to the event in question. " Gentlemen at home at ease" no doubt might feel dissatise fled with the conduct of those who were suddenly called to decide cn an emergency. It was not for this country to decide on the propriety of the ground which induced the Danish general to retire from the Danewirke. THE ALEXANDRA AND ALABAMA. Mr. PEACOCKE asked the,Under Secretary of State for Foreigea Affairs, whether the Government would lay upon the table of the house copies of their correspondence with the Government of the United States, and more especially that portion of it relating to the case of the Alexandra, and the claim by the United States Government for compensation for the losses inflicted by the Alabama and other Con federate cruisers ? Mr. LAYARD said as regarded the Alexandra, as the case of that vessel was under judicial consideration, it would not be advisable to lay any documents relative to the same on the table. With reference to the Alabama, papers had already been laid on the table. SALMON FISHERIES. Mr. DUTTON asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was his intention to introduce any bill amending the Salmon Fisheries (England) Act of 1861, and giving extended powers for the preservation of salmon in fresh and tidal waters Sir G. GREY said the subject was being investigated by a commission, DANISH PAPERS. In reply to Lord R. CECIL, Mr. LAYARD said that these papers would not be ready for presentation to Parliament before three weeks. (Oh, oh.) SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Mr. D'ISRAELI—I wish to make an inquiry of the noble lord the First Minister with respect to an answer which he gave yesterday, which has occasioned some perplexity. It was with reference to an inquiry as to whether the Court of Berlin had notified to our Government that in consequence of the war between Prussia and Denmark it no longer held itself bound by the Treaty of 1852. The noble lord, as I understood him, seemed to say that no such communica tion had been received by cur Government from the Court of Berlin ; but at the same time he expressed the opinion of the Government upon such a course of conduct had it been pursued by the Prussian Government. The noble, lord said that he should lock upon such a proposition as most unjust and monetrous. (An hon. member—" Prepos terous.") Preposterous—a word of nearly the same sig nificance. The question asked yesterday was not as to the morality of that conduct, but as to its legality. Having heard the noble lord's opinion of such possible conduct, I wish to know whether he is of opinion, or whether we are to conclude that her Majesty's Government are of opinion, that, in consequence of the war between Prussia and Den mark, Prussia may be relieved from the undertakings which by the Treaty of 1862 she has entered into with this coun try, and with the other signatories of the treaty, or whether those engagements on the part of Prussia are not totally independent of any relations which :nay subsist between Prussia and Denmark. (Hear, hear.) There is another matter referring almost to the same subject, and certainly to the answer given by the noble lord yesterday, on which I should like to have some information. The noble lord seemed in that answer to intimate that the German Powers had announced that, when the invasion of the Duchies had Leen completed they should be prepared to evacuate those Duchies as soon as all the causes—the avowed causes—for which the invasion had taken place were removed and their object effected. What I wish to know from her Majesty's Government, as a second inquiry, whether before the inva sion of the Danish Duchies tcok place, an event of which no notice was given to the world, her Majesty's Govern. Yaztat obtained from the Governments of Austria and Prus sia any undertaking that when these Duchies had been in vaded and occupied, if the avowed objects of the invasion were obtained, they would restore the Duchies to the King of Denmark. (Hear, hear.) Lord PALMERSTON—I think that what I stated—at all events, what I meant to state, yesterday was, that a notion had been broached in Germany and in some quarters at Berlin that if a state of war could be established between Prussia and Austria and Denmark, that would release those two Powers from the engagement of the Treaty of 1852. I stated say opinion upon that point, but I meant to say, or to imply, that that was not the doctrine upon which Austria and Prussia at present take their stand, inasmuch as they have declared, by that paper which was read here and in the other House of Parliament, that they acknowledge the binding nature of the Treaty of 1852, and adhere to the intention of maintaining the integrity of the Danish monarchy, and therefore they cannot contend that their hostilities with Denmark have released them from the en gagements of that treaty. But I entirely concur with the view which I infer that the right hon. gentleman takes that, even if that condition of things existed be tween Denmark and the two Powers which could be ra tionally called war, and which if the engagement had been contracted simply between these two Powers and Denmark might and would have put an end to that treaty, still the Treaty of 1852 was not a treaty contracted simply between Austria and Prussia, on the one hand, and Denmark on the other— (hear)—Lut was an engagement which they entered into, in common with the other great Powers who signed and the Powers and States who acceded to that treaty, and that they could not be relieved from that common engage ment by anything which may take place between them separately and Denmark. That opinion I found not simply upon the reason of the thing. there is a case precisely iu point, The five Powers entered into a treaty with Turkey by which they agreed to respect the neutrality of the Bos phorns and the Dardanelles, and that no ships of war of any of the Powers should enter those straits without the speecial permiesion of the Porte, and then only a certain number at a time, The ratifications of that treaty were exchanged with Turkey, and not among all the Powers who signed it, just as in the case of the Treaty of 185 the ratifications were exchanged in London between each of the Powers and Denmark, and the Powers did not go through the unnecessary form of exchanging ratifications with each other, When the British fleet entered the Dar danelles at the commencement of the Russian war, Austria protested against that act at a violation of the common en e gageme.n+ which by the treaty regulating the passage of the Dardenelles was taken by all the Powers. An answer was given, which in our opinion was sufficient ; but that proved that in the opinion of Austria herself a general engagement taken by many Powers towards one was binding upon all who took it, not simply between each and the party con cerned, but as with respect to the allies with whom that engagement was taken. THE TOWNLEY CASE. In reply to Sir F, KELLY. USir G. GREY stated that the papers connected with this case, including the certificates of the borough magistrates and medical men upon which Townley had been removed to the lunatic asylum, would be in the hands of members before he moved the second reading of the bill which he had introduced the previous night. SC IILESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Mr. n ISRAELI —In continuation of the question put to the noble lerd, I wish to ask whether what was callers a despatch the other ntgne_ea document which, .1 believe, was cons id ere d very ambiguous, and w a s t rea t e d w ith d er i s i on l a y the Secretary of State —is the last and only evidence the Government possess of the intention of Austri a and Prussia to uphold the Treaty of 1852? I would also t a k e the liberty o f reminding the noble lord that he h as omitted to answer my:second question. Lord PALMERSTON--I had just discovered my unin tentlonal omission to answer the last (vacation of the rig ht hon. gentleman, and was about to do s o. The despatch ffi alluded to is certainly the last ecial communication re ceived by the Government; but I consider that it le cor n _ plate in regard to the recognition of the Treaty of 1352 and the maintenance of the integrity of the Danish Monarchy. lVe certainly have no esaarantee on the part of Austria and Prussia that they will evacuate Schleswig when the Constitution is revoked ; but we have the assurance in our own minds that they are two Powers which must think their character for good faith of some value. The ground, and the only ground, on which I apprehend they have entered Schleswig- and occupied it, as a material guarantee, was to obtain the revocation of the Constitution of November, as tar as it relates to Schleswig, And, therefore, I think, they will find, when that demand has been complied with, that they are bound by honour and good faith to give up that occupation which they undertook simply for the pur pose of obtaining that revocation. ASH-WEDNESDAY. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. Lord PALMERSTON, again tieing, said—lt is usual for this house on . Ash-Wednesday to meet at two o'clock, in stead of at the usual time. I understand, however, that there is really no business for to-morrow, the hon and gallant member for the Queen's County having aostponed, or consented to postpone, the motion of which he had given notice. It will, therefore, I think, be raoro conveniorkt that THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 10, 1864. the house, instead of meeting at two o'clock to-morrow, should adjourn till Thursday. (Hear, hear.) SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, Mr. S. FITZGERALD—I cannot avoid ta':' g the op portunity which this motion gives me to addreee a few words to the house upon the extraordin oy answer which was given with reference to the Danish papers by the hon. gentleman the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. That is a question upon which the heart of this country is set, which agitates nearly every portion of the Continent, and upon which this house and the country are agreed in de manding the most complete information, not only as to the facts that are passing, but as to the conduct pursued from day to day by her gsfajesty's Government, and the course they have pursued for weeks past. (Hear.) The hon. gentleman being asked when we may expect information en those points quietly tells the house that no papers at all can be given before a period of three weeks. (Cheers.) Three weeks I why, what may have happened In three weeks ? In the space of three days we have seen the Duchy of Schleswig overrun, we have seen a gallant people beaten down by an overpowering force. (Loud cheers.) And yet on such a question as this the Government tell the House of Commons that they are to remain contentedly in the dark for a period of three weeks I Now, I beg to point out to the house that as regards Japan papers were promised in her Majesty's Speech; but respecting Denmark complete silence was observed, and no information was promised to the House of Commons. And as to the difficulty of pub lishing these papers the noble lord at the head of the Foreign Office when he chooses to do so is at no loss for means of giving information to the public about his policy and the course which he is going to take. We know very well tbat in the course of the autumn the noble lord, bofore the ink of a particular despatch was dry, hurried it off to the Loden Gazette, and in the columns of the Gazette it was published even before it reached the Power to whom that despatch was addressed. (Cheers.) I think the house will eonceive from the answer of the hon. gentleman and from the course taken by her Majesty's Government on this subject that they fear discussion. (Hear, hear.) They know very well, with the feeling which always prevails in this house, that there will be no discussion until the house has had ample means of forming an opinion ; and they hope by delay to tide over the critical time, and to avoid a discussion of their policy, and of the course they have pursued. I therefore appeal to the noble lord at the head of the Government to rectify what I may alrsost call the tortuous policy of the Foreign-office, and to give, at the earliest moment, the moat complete and most ample information to the House of Commons. (Cheers.) Mr. LAYARD—I think the hon. gentleman has wasted a good deal of virtuous indignation. (Cries of No, no.) There is no desire on the part of the Government either to avoid discussion or to waste time in this matter. The hon. gentleman has filled the office which I have the honour to fill at present, and ought to be aware that there is great diffi cul'y in publishing a complete set of papers upon transac tions of this kind. In the first place, the hon. gentleman knows we cannot lay on the table of the house documents communicated by foreign Powers without first consulting them as to whether or not they wish them to be published. That is a matter of courtesy, and it is a rule which is always followed. I can only say that I saw the printer to-day, and also communicated with the clerks at the Foreign office. Tho other night I stated that I hoped these papers would be speedily produced, and I then hoped that they would be produced next week, but they are so voluminous that I am assured this is impossible if we wish to present the papers in a perfect form. I have no doubt if the house desires to have them in instalments portions can be furnished, but I doubt whether the house will thus obtain the exact infor mation which it desires. I can assure the house that every possible speed shall be wed in expediting the production of the papers. They shall be laid on the table at the very earliest moment—l cannot give any other answer. But assure the house there is no intention on the part of the Go vernment to retard even by one day the publication of the documents. Mr. DISRAELI—I think we have not yet received a satisfactory answer on the part of the Government. The affairs of Germany and Denmark were of so grave a chara ter some time ago that it might have been a question for the Government whether they should not have advised the Sovereign to assemble Parliament at an earlier period. (Cheers.) That was the feeling of men of very different political opinions. But there are, I know, very grave reasons which might operate to restrain the Government from giving that advice, except under most urgent circumstances. How ever, if Parliament were not summoned earlier than usual, I think her Majesty's Government were boon the moment it assembled—(cheers) --to place in our hands the documents necessary to form an opinion on this all engrossing and all important subject,—a subject upon which the question of peace or war, or even of a general war, may ultimately have to be decided, and with regard to which at this moment we are completely in the dark. The technical answer of the Under-Secretary is most unsatisfactory. He tells us he went to the printer to-day. Well, but the Under-Secretary ought to have gene to the printer long before; he ought to have gone every day and, it necessary, every hour before Parlia ment met to the printer for these papers. (Cheers and laughter.) Ho ought to have insisted on these papers being ready to present to Parliament the first night, I took occasion on the opening day to notice the strange omission from the Royal Speech of any promise that papers on the subject of Germany and Denmark would be produced. What was the answer of the noble lord ? He said his ob ject was that the Speech should nor be too long. (A laugh.) Yet he found space to insert in that Speech a promise that the papers respecting Japan—no doubt, an interesting and important subject, but contrasted with the European ques • tion of Germany and Denmark, a matter of comparatively trifling importance—should be forthcoming. There was room for that in the Speech. But when I pressed the noble lord for these papers, he, treated the matter with derision, and said, " You shall have papers ; you shall have plenty of :hem, and I hope hon. members will study them. I have read a good many of them (said the noble lord) and I have got a surfeit of them," It was clear to me at that time that her Majesty's Government had no settled determination to present these papers to Parliament—(cheers)— and, coup ling the tone of his address with the omission of any pro mise of the documents in the Royal Speech, I must say the non-production of papers on such an important subject was a great inadvertence, and one which I think it would be difficult to vindicate. Practically, I take it for granted that the mass of these papers, either in manuscript or in proof sheets, are now prepared, and that permis sion to print them has been obtained from all the foreign Powers. That is a mere mechanical affair. Tho printer of the Foreign-office was rubbed up to-day for the first time, and, frightened at the mass of documents before him, no doubt made the same sort of calculation which he would have done if an ordinary thick pamphlet on the Schleswig-Holstein question—and we have seen many of them—were brought to him. He said they would require three weeks to print. But if you have all the materials ready, and the credit of the Foreign-office be at stake, you mast endeavour to compensate for former //ekes by die , tributing these documents into the hands of several printers—(hear, hear)—and I will be bound to say, with proper diligence, that you ought to produce these papers to Parliament in eight and forty hours. The house ought to insist on these papers being placed in their hands in 48 hours, or otherwise to relinquish the fulfilment of their highest duty. (Hear, hoar,) Lord PALMERSTON said—Sir, I think that the right hon. gentleman is taking a leaf out of the book of the Prus sian and Austrian Governments, who called on Denmark to revoke a constitution in 48 hours, when that could only be constitutionally accomplished by the instrumentality of a parliament not then assembled. (Laughter.) I can assure the right hon gentleman—he can believe me or not as he likes—(a laugh)—l took it so much as a matter of course that papers on so important a matter as Denmark and Ger many must necessarily be presented to Parliament, that it was totally unnecessary to mention them in the speech-4f it was an omission I am sorry for it, So far as its arising from any doubt whether the papers should or should not be presented, I might as well have doubted my own existence as the obligation of the Government to lay them before Pare 'lament. There was no doubt about it. The hon. gentle man is perhaps not quite so well aware as the hon. member fer Horsham of the labour of preparing an accurate print of a vast mass of documents ; it is not only the printing of them, but they must be looked over after by a competent person to see that there are no mistakes of the press and that all has been accurately done. The Under Secretary stated to the house that if it is desired these documents may be produced in parts, and perhaps this might be the most convenient manner ; and if hon. members desire they may have Part I. and then Part ll.—(a laugh)—before they come to the matter they intend to discuss; but no delay shall take place in laying before the house the whole of the papers. Lord J. MANNERS said—l can quite believe the noble lord that there will be no unnecessary delay for the future in the course of delivery of these papers; but, certainly, a great and unnecessary delay had occurred in the presentation of the papers up to the present time. It was impossible to listen to what fell on a former occasion and not see that however necessary it may be for the noble lord opposite to lay these papers on the table at the same time there was not that energy to lay these papers before the house that was to be expected in a matter of such vital importance. (Hear, hear.) No doubt these papers have been kept back in the Foreign Office, and have not been brought forward in the state of preparation they should have been. (Hear, hear.) I presume now we shall have these papers brought b e f ore us i n a much less time than that in which they were promised ten Mutes ago, and I hope we shall no t b e disappointed. (Hmear, Mr. HENNESSy said he askedpromised h s e e a t d r h .) sa e to Government p o lan d Nv o t u w l d contain th e despatch from two nights ago w h et h er the papers Earl Russell to P r i nce Gortscha koff, to whi c h great importance was a th tt e ac Dni hedj h ust now ..o at Berlin and Vi enna for its bearingon It was sent in the au t umn, recalled by telera h, q altered, e o . and re-sent, When th a t d espatch arrived it ;a:understood that Count Rechberg and M. Bismark called n attsn t'l to p the declaration made by E ar l R ussell in his s h t at B o larr g owrie, to the effect that th e d ominion of Russia eea over Po land wee forfeited by reason of th e non-eomplianee of Rus sia with the treaty of Vienna; and the German iceversn state that that principle would in som e d egree apply tot°hwe case of Denmark. They gay that the treaty of Lond on h a d not been fulfilled by Denmark. and therefore the treatl of London was void. Now it was very important to get that despatch. He wished tie ask whether the Government wain produce that original despatch sent from the Foreign Office with the sanction of the Queen, signed by the Secretary of State, but which was afterwards withdrawn and altered. Sir H. CAIRNS said—l wish also to ask a question relative to papers we had printed this morning, some papers on American affairs containing despatches, some from the other side of the water, some from the American Alinister here. But there has been one despatch of very great importance and of a peculiar character which has been printed in America, and reprinted in the ordinary channels of information in this country. It was dated, I think, 11th July last year. If I understand, this despatch, coming from the American Minister of Foreign Affairs, was to be read to Earl Russell and a copy of it left with him, and it is evidently far more material than any yet laid on the table. I wish to ask her Majesty's Government whether they are prepared to communicate that despatch to the House of Commons, and at the same time the answer that was returned either to Lord Lyons or sent directly, or whether they are prepared to state that no answer was sent. (Cheers.) Mr. LAYARD—When that despatch is communi- sated to her Majesty's Government it will be published. It was never presented to her Majesty's Government, and her Majesty's Government have no knowledge of any such despatch. I do not quite understand to what despatch the other hon. gentleman alludes to in reference to Poland. If there is such a despatch—and I think there is not—if he will communicate with me privately on the subject it shall be produced. Lord R. CECIL—Do I understand the secretary to say that no despatch from Mr. Adams to the Foreign-office, conveying the demands which Mr. Seward made, has been forwarded to the Foreign-office, and if thereis no despatch, is there any memorandum of any verbal application con veying the same insolent demands ? Mr. LAYAR have stated that although that de spatch appeared in the newspapers, we have no knowledge of it; it was never communicated, and we cannot pro duce it. Lord R. CECIL—And was there no verbal demand P Mr. LAYARD—No verbal communication in that seise was ever held. The motion for adjournment was ultimately agreed to. K AGOSIMA. Mr. BUXTON moved the following resolution : --" That this house, while only imputing to Admiral Kuper a misconception of the duty imposed on him, deeply regrets tho burning of the town of Kagosima, as being contrary to those usages of war which prevail among civilised nations, and to which it is the duty and policy of this country to adhere." In the course of a long address he cited several authorities on international law to show that the bombardment of Kagosima was directly opposed to the dictum of the most celebrated writers on maritime law. Mr. AYTOUN, in seconding the motion, condemned the arrogance of the English merchants and residents in Japan as having been the real cause of enmity felt towards us by the natives. Mr. LONGFIELD proposed, as an amendment, to omit from Mr. Buxton's resolution the words " while only im puting to Admiral Kuper a misconception of the duty im posed on him." His object was to free a gallant and meri torious officer from the grave imputation that was sought to be cast upon him by the terms of the resolution. He con tended that Admiral Kuper had done no more than execute the commands with which he was entrusted, and there had ' been no cold-blooded cruelty, misconception of orders, or terrible mistake on his part. He understood his instructions well. He obeyed the orders that were given him, The measures he concerted were within both the letter and the spirit of his instructions ; and what he conceived prudently he had executed bravely. The orders given to him by Colonel Neale, ber Majesty's representative in Japan, in accordance with instructions received from the Foreign office, included the burning of the town of Kagosima and the palace of Prince Satsuma, which he performed with the knowledge and in the presence of Colonel Neale himself, who. having given the orders, knew the consequences, and expressed his satisfaction at the result. The resolution of Mr. Buxton was nothing else than an attempt to offer up Admiral Kuper as a scapegoat to save the Government from the censure of the house. Sir J. HAY seconded the amendment, and said that the imputation thrown upon Admiral Kuper did no credit either to the Government or those persons who had thus assailed a brave and worthy inrin. The duty be had executed was imposed upon him by the barbarous orders of the Foreign Office, and the attack on Kagosima, following upon the affair in Siam last year, was but the culminating point of the policy which the Government had of late adopted in the East. Lord STANLEY—I quite understand the reluctance o : my hon. and gallant friend to pass any censure on persons who, whether in a civil or military capacity, are perform ing a very responsible duty at a great distance from home, and labouring under disadvantages in respect to receiving instructions. I share in that feeling, and I shall be glad if I hear from the hon. gentleman the member for Southwark (Mr. Layard) a better defence for these proceedings than appears in the papers which have been laid before us. Ido not intend to go again over the pound covered by the speech of the hon, member for Maidstone ; but I will call the attention of the house to one or two points, and I will do so in order that an answer may be given by the Under- Secretary. Ida not understand what justification can be alleged for the double claim made by her Majesty's Go vernment—first, the claim made on the Tycoon ; and next, that made on the Prince of Satsuma, I cotild Understand either if the other were not put forward. (Hear, hear). I could understand your treating the Prince as entirely inde pendent, and then ycur course might be obvious, You might have applied to the Tycoon in the first instance, and if he replied, " I cannot punish the Prince of Satsuma," you miglat have said, " Then we give you fair notice that we shall take the of eir out of your hands and punish him ourselves." But if the Prince of Satsuma is re sponsible for the murder, then this demand of £lOO,OOO from the Tycoon, who is not responsible, who did not order the murder, and could not have prevented it, is simply unjustifiable. (Hear, hear.) On the other hand, if the Prince of Satsuma is to be treated as a subject, no doubt we have a right to come on the Government of Japan for compensation; but then we ought to leave it to the Government to settle matters with the Daimio. (Hear, hear.) But the responsibility of the one, from the nature of the caae, seems to exclude the responsibility of the other, and therefore those who have conducted the negotiations on the part of this country have put ns in the wrong. It also appears to me that the amount of the demand is altoge ther exorbitant and excessive, No doubt it is very painful and difficult to have to value human life ; but one can only judge of what would be done if such a ease occurred in Europe. If the murder of a British subject took place un der anything like similar circumstances in a European country, you would insist on the punishment of the offen der, and demand compensation ; but it appears to me that you would not do anything analogous to what you have done in this case by demanding £lOO,OOO from the Tycoon, who was net responsible for the murder, and making a further demand of £25,000 of the Prince of Satsuma, whom you hold to have been responsible. (Hear.) There is ano ther point to which I think the house ought to look. The hon. member for Maidstone spoke of the inhumanity of those proceedings. I look at the matter in another way, and say that their irepolicy is greater than their inhu manity. (Hear.) You know the Tycoon is in great diffi culty between the Daitnios and the foreign merchants and diplomatists. You have, then, to deal with a Government which may be taken to be neutral between the two ; you have the great chiefs, who undoubtedly are hostile to foreigners; and, lastly, you have the people, of whom we we do not know whether or not they share the preju dice of the chiefs against foreigners, but who, at all events, have nothing to lose by the country being open to foreigners, and may have a groat deal to gain. I think it clear, then, that your policy ought to be to lessen the in fluence of the Daimios on the people, and to conciliate the latter. (Hear, hear.) lam afraid your proceedings in reference to this murder will have a contrary effect. All they will know about the affair is that the foreigners have had a quarrel with the chiefs and destroyed a town. That will place the Daimios in the position of being the natural protectors of the people, whereas your object ought to be to separate those two classes, and to show the natives that though you may take a part against the chiefs, you do so in the interest of the people. (Hear, hear.) lam afraid it will be a long time before the impression created in the minds of the people by those proceedings will be obliterated. I also think it is very questionable whether what you have done will have very much effect on the chiefs. I do not say anything as to the destruction of batteries, because as you treated the Prince of Satsuma as an independent per • son no objection could be taken to your destroying his forts ; but when your doing that involved the destruction of a town, it is another matter. I do not expect that much moral effect will be produced on the Daimios by such an opera tion as that. It reminds me of the story of an Irish ab sentee landlord whose agent sent him over a threatening letter which he had received. The landlord, in reply, said " Tell those follows they are great fools if they think that by shooting you they will intimidate me." (Much laughter.) I very much fear that the same is the case with the Daimios. They are not likely to be intimidated by punishments which fall on the people. (Hear, hear.) You will not frighten the class on whom you wish ti make an effect, but you will make enemies of the class whom you want to have your friends. (Hear, hear.) In these same papers I see a trans action, of the earneelate, which bears on this case. It seems that in October of last year there was a good deal of anxiety felt among the traders because the trade in silk was falling off. What was the reason of this falling off? Col. Neale, writing to the Japanese Minister, says : " The matter respecting the restricted arrivals of silk being now well known to be caused by no accident or want of the material, but by a systematic arrangement. of a few of the principal silk dealers, or monopolisers, at Yeddo ; great un easinese and alarm prevail among the mercantile community of Yokohama." Upon that assumption, becluso those dealers in silk at Ycddo are doing that which dealers in Manchester and Liverpool sometimes do—because they are holding back produce for high prices—(hear, hear) -cur representetive writes a very peremptory letter, and the Japanese Govern ment is called upon to explain. (Hear, hear.) That is not the way you would act towards any European Government. That letter throws light upon whatever may be doubtful in k other transactions, and how what 'our feelings and bear- ing have been in dealing with the Government of Japan. (Cheers.) Admiral WALCOTT supported the amendment, and ex, pressed an opinion that the papers on the subject justified him in declaring that no b:ame could be imputed to Admi. ral Kuper. Lord R. MONTAGU argued that the Government had no course before them but to enforce the demand for redress for the murders and acts of violence committed by the Japanese on British subjects. Sir F. CROSSLEY lamented the great loss of life that had ensued from the bombardment of Kagosima, and con demned the adoption of such a high-handed policy in our communications with Eastern nations. The time had arrived when it behoved the Foreign-office to endeavour to uphold the honour of the country, without resorting to these wholesale sacrifices of huma n life. Mr. LIDDELL deprecated the system of hastily con- eluding treaties, under the guns of our ships, with nations of whose babite, customs, and laws we had no knowledge. Ho w we could expect a treaty to be faithfully observed which had been obtained under such circumstances passed his com- prehension. Our proceedings in Japan had been marked by a violence that was deeply to be deplored, and he held that the treaty made with that country ought to be revised, if possible, in conjunction with those who were acquainted with the laws and customs of Japan. Mr. KINGLAKE reminded the house that when the official account of the bombardment of Kagosima reached England, Earl Russell at once wrote a dispatch to Colonel Neale, expressive of the regret he felt at the destruction of that town. He did not believe that the noble earl had given an imperative order to destroy the residenc3 of the Prince of Satsuma, whether it were situated on a bare hill or in a populous city ; but he hesitated not to say that our treaties had broken up the political system of the state in Japan. . . _____ In the present state of their information with regard to the details of tho late engagement at Kagosima, he thought it would be unjust to throw any blame or seeming blame upon Admiral Kuper. Mr. LAYARD said no one who had attended to his hon friend the member for Maidstone would be surprised tha, he considered it his duty to submit to the house the question which he that evening brought before them. (Hear.) His hon. friend's well•known sympathy with the human race every one who knew him would agree in acknowledging, and all would be ready to do him justice in feeling that he he was right in bring the question before the House of Com mons. (Hear, hear.) If he could not agree in all that his hon. friend had said, it was not that he could not agree in the principles which he had laid down, but in the manner in which he had tried to establish his facts. He entirely agreed with his hon. friend that it was most deplorable and deeply to be regretted that a town should be bombarded and laid in ruins, as Kagosimawas reported to have been. (Hear, hear.) He agreed with him, that nothing but the greatest, the most extreme provocation could justify such a course ; and he entirely agreed with him that it was a ter rible sight to witness the condition to which the inhabi tants were reduced, and upon those matters there was no difference of feeling and opinion between himself and his hen. friend, who, he was sure, would not charge him with want of sympathy with E Astern nations. He (Mr. Layard) was known to have expressed his regret on several occa sions at the manner in which those races had been treated. Now, such being the general principles laid down, let him see whether they applied to the present instance. But be fore he did so he must say he could not concur in the blame cast upon so gallant and meritorious an officer as Admiral Kuper. (Hear, hear.) And here he must say that it had been too much the habit of some parties in this country to blame officers in their absence for alleged transactions before inquiry haa taken place to ascertain whether the charges were correct. (Hear, hear.) He must say that he did not think Admiral Kuper could be charged with shedding blood wantonly; and he must further say of that gallant officer that a more humane men could not be than he had always shown himself to be. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member here proceeded to draw a sketch of the relations of this country with Japan previous to the occurrence in ques tion. This country was not the first, he said, to enter into a treaty with Japan. An American commodore was the first, and having made the .American treaty, Russia then stepped iu and made a treaty with the Japanese on ber own account. Was it, then, matter of surprise —seeing that Ame rica and Russia, two great commercial nations, lead made treaties to advance their commercial interests, and thus opened up new markets for themselves—that England, on her part, followed the example, and with a view of availing herself of the new markets, made a treaty:of commerce with the Japanese. (Hear, hear.) They were condemned for, and charged with, having forced a treaty upon the Japanese, which the authorities of Japan, it was said, had no power to make. They understood the Tycoon to be the head autho rity of Japan at the time, and they entered into the treaty with him. They ascertained that there were three parties in Japan at the time, and that a great part of the natives were ill-treated and kept in a state of slavery by the Daimios. Of the three parties one of them, he understood, was known by the name of " Toree"—(laughter)—and that party were most hostile in their acts and feelings against foreigners, particularly against the English. Another of those parties was called " Litter d 'Trees"—(laughter)—and the third were known as the party Who Were for keeping to themselves all the good places, and sticking to them. (Great laugh! er.) There was also a party who were for the maintenance of the " conneßion between Church and State.•' (Laughter.) Much outrage and injustice had been committed against foreigners, particularly those from England, and the re monstrances of the Government against thcse outrageous ex cesses were not attended to, It had been :mid that the Lri tish Government was unfriendly to and did not like the Japanese. Now, so far Loth that being the case, they bad in this country made great concessions to the Japanese, ana not only did they do so themselves, but they actually in duced other Powers to make concessions to them, (Hear, hear.) He could assure the house that in Mr. Richardson's case neither he nor his friends were in fault, He (Mr. Layard) was not in the habit of defending the excesses of his countrymen; and he was sorry to say that they were often guilty of excesses that no man ought to defend. (Ilear, hear.) In Mr. Ri.lardson'a case that was not so. A most unprovoked murder had been committed on that gentleman and other members of his party by a number of men who hod been set on to commit it by their leaders. Mr. Richard son and his party were proceeding quietly along a high road that was open to them by treaty, and were most wantonly and without any provocation whatever attacked. Murder was committed, and the party, when remonstrated with, tried to excuse themselves by saying that it was 0 "casual' , murder. He had never before heard of a casual murder. A more deliberate murder, ho repeated, never was com mitted. The English Government remonstrated, and de manded satisfaction, but their remonstrance! wen disre warded, and their demand was treated with contempt. Was it then to be a matter of surprise that they insisted upon proper redress being given by the Japanese Government for ouch an outrage ? (Hear,) The Government made demands upon the Tycoon Governrneni, and also upon Satsuma. In the first place they demanded £lO,OOO from the Japanese Government--not for the murder, but for allowing the mur der en a road which was open by treaty, on a road on which it was their bounden duty to protect lite. (Hear.) That was entirely irrespective of the murder. Then they had de manded from the person who committed the murder what they considered to be a fair sum to be divided amongst those who were sufferers, That sum was £25,000. Some might think that sum too much, others might consider it too little. Mr. Richardson, who was murdered, was a wealthy mer chant, and his death was a serious blow to his family. Ile did not, therefore, consider that the sum was an unreason able one. The other persons concerned were merchants in a good position in life, and for them the sum demanded he could not consider was too much. Besides that, her Ma jesty's Govet nment asked for the execution of those who had been concerned in the affair. Now, it had been stated that evening as a matter of fact, that her Majesty's Government had asked for the execution of Satsuma's father. So far from that being the case, they had stated over and over again that nothing of the sort was done. In the first place, they did not know that it was Satsuma's father who had committed the murder. Their first impression was that it was his uncle. (Laughter.) They asked for the trial and punishment of the retainers of the chief who had committed the act. If hon. gentlemen would refer to page 94 of the Blue-book they would fled that the Government demanded the speedy arrest and bringing to capital punisherrent the men among the Prince'; retinue, and not the Prince himself. Satsuma had stated that no order had been given for this attack. If no order had been given them surely the Govern ment had a right to ask for the punishment of those who had committed so grave an offence without an order, and that was all they did ask for. (Hear, hear.) He thought it would be admitted that those demands, under the circum stances, were perfectly just; but if they had accepted the excuse of the Tycoon, that Satsuma was beyond his power, and that he had no control over his retainers, the Daimios, under the shelter of that excuse, would have committed all sorts of outrages. If, on the other hand, they had exacted the punishment of the Daimios alone, in all future cases the Tycoon would have said that the crimes had been perpe trated by the Daimios, and that they alone were responsible. So that the Government had no alternative but to make a double demand, and he thought that was the right course to pursue. Was the English Government alone amongst those who hod punished the Daimios for outrages against foreigners ? If hon. gentlemen would turn to the Blue book they would find that joint representations had been made by the English, French, Dutch, and American Mi nisters, that they held a Prince who had fired upon a ship responsible for that cot, and would proceed to punish it if the injury were not redressed, Thoy did punish him by destroying his batteries and forts. Now, Admiral Kuper, on receiving his instructions, proceeded to carry them out, It had been stated that the instructions of her Majesty's Government were not sufficiently explicit, and thatit was on that account that the admiral committed the act ho and that consequently the responsibility must fall upo t n the Government. Now, when the instructions. were k senwleod,e, her Majesty's Government had not the slighte f st .t knowledge of the palace in which Satsuma dwelt, o t r h o shore, that that he . They had heard that he had a palace neafri 0 , and ff that h e t was he Government gave instructions to the admiral. founded upon this imperfect knowledge. Ecarl Russell, in his instructions, stated that he had heard that Satsuma's territory was a fiapt.tow could erful get lr tonc Prince, those having vessels vesselse d o carruy: t os h w e n o; peninsula, but that the admire' would be able to form a bet ter judgment whether it would be possible to take his port. The Government did not even know that thero was a large .... town there. — (Laughter.) He was at a loss to understand why hon. gentlemen laughed. He repeated that in England there was no knowledge of that town. The fleet arrived there on the 11th, and cast anchor at the entrance of the port. Next day they went further and anchored before the town. What was the first thing the Japanese did ? They invited Admiral Kuper and Colonel Neale to go on shore to conduct negotiations with them. Many gentlemen who had great confidence in the Japanese might think that they ought to have done so; but Admiral Kuper and Colonel Neale thought they had better not run any risk of being led into a trap, and very wisely declined the invitation. (Hear.) On the following day a person calling himself a chief, with his retainers, approached Admiral Kuper's ship and asked to allowed to come on board. There could not be a moral doubt that these persons, having little knowledge of the ar rangements of an English man-of-war, thought they could capture the ship by a coup de main, and when the Japanese official found that he was outwitted he became speechless, and went off with great rapidity. No doubt these were two attempts to entrap the British officers; the first to entrap the officers on shore, and the second to capture the ship. All this time the batteries were being manned. Colonel Neale, finding that it was no use to withhold any longer ordered Admiral Kuper to take possession of the ships belonging to Satsuma, and the Admiral did every thing he could to carry out his instructions with the least possible harshness. A statement had appeared in some of the papers which he regretted to find the hon. member for Birmingham (Mr. Bright) had endorsed, that after captur ing the ships Admiral Kuper needlessly kept them for a long time under the eyes of the Japanese. The truth was, that the admiral could not have taken the vessels out of the bay without passing under the fire of the batteries. So far from the admiral having kept the vessels under the eyes of the Japanese in order to draw down their fire, he took them as far as possible to the opposite side of the bay. No sooner were the vessels taken than the Japanese opened fire. He _ _ _ did not deny that the Japanese had a perfect right to do so, but what he did deny was, that it was the duty of the British admiral to allow himself to be fired upon without returning 't. If he had done so, what would have been the result ? There would have been a cry throughout the whole of Japan that our fleet had been defeated, our settlements would have been plundered, and probably every foreigner in the coun try would have been murdered. (Hear.) It was, then, the clear duty of the admiral to return the fire. The hon. mem ber for Wakefield had stated that it would have been impos sible for Admiral Kuper to have returned the fire without burning the town, and upon the high authority of that gal lant gentleman he was content to rest the admiral's excul pation. It had been said that shells had been thrown in the town, but nothing was saidabout such a circumstance in the reports, nor was anything said about bombardment, with the exception of the second day,when shells were thrown intothe palace of Satsuma. On the first day no shell was thrown into the town ; on the contrary, the return of the firo from the batteries led to the firing of the town. Let hon. mem bers consider what a Japanese town really was. It was built simply of thin laths and paper—very little timber indeed. Fires were constantly occurring in these towns, The people constantly lived in fear of life, and were always ready to move, He had spoken with several officers on the subject, being anxious to ascertain the truth on the point, and he found that firee in Japanese towns:were the commonest possible occurrences. The officials had four days' notice of the operations against them, and during that time they were preparing to attack the British fleet. If, therefore, the people suffered injury, it was the duty of the officials to warn them to remove, and he had every reason to believe they did so. It was possible that there was loss of life there. If so, no one more sincerely deplored it than himself ; but, at the same time, it would be some consolation to think that the loss of life was very small indeed amongst the peaceable inhabitants. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Layard) had resided some time in a town which was peculiarly liable to fires ; he meant Constantinople. In that town there was a fire almost every month, consuming as many residences as at Kagosima, although the area over which they extended was not so great, as the houses were higher. In Constan tinople a fire raged with extraordinary rapidity, destroying many houses in the course of a few hours, and yet he never heard of a single loss of life by fire there. The people lived in c.nstant readiness to move, and loss of live from fire was consequently hardly known. Those considerations led him to hope that few lives of innocent persons were lost at Kagosima. No doubt there was a considerable loss of life amongst the retainers of the Daimio. They fought against the British fleet, they manned their batteries, and they consequently ran all the risks which men engaged in war were bound to run, but of the quiet peaceable inhabitants ho very much doubted whether any, or a very few, at all events, met their death. On the second day it was neces sary, according to the admiral's view, to destroy the palace of Satsuma. Could he, after the destruction of the pro perty of the poor, leave the palace of the chief malefactor untouched? He (Mr. Layard) thought not, and the admiral very properly threw shells into the palace. There was no proof that shells went into the town. It might be assumed that they did, but there was not the slightest evidence of the fact. The hon. gentleman the member for Maidstone (Mr. Buxton), in the early part of his speech, said that he would call evidence in support of his views, and he (Mr. Layard) thought that he would have called witnesses of some standing. The first was a picture in the Illustrated News. Now, ho did not wish to say anything against that admirable paper. Those who were in the secret would en tertain doubts whether that paper had on board the Euryalus a correspondent who witnessed the town of Kagosima in Then another portion of evidence on which he relied was a statement which had appeared in the Aylesbury papers. Now, he had a great respect for the Aylesbury papers, hut he could not take evidence second-hand from th e ir columns, the hon, gentleman himself not having seen the paper from which his information was derived. Mr. BtJXTON—It was the statement of a sailor who was an eye-witness of What he described. Mr. LAYARD—WeII, he should like to know the sailor's name, or what authority there was for the statement. In the absence of that information he preferred to take the statement of a British Admiral. (Hear, hear.) What he had now stated was a short history of what took place at Kagosima. The house would now perhaps allow him for a few moments to call attention to the motion of his hon. friend. As regarded Admiral Kuper's judgment there was no wish on the part of the Government to cast blame upon him. On the contrary ! It was the duty of the Govern ment to support him, because he was entitled to support. It was asked why the Government brad not given him the as no honorary distinctions which they had conferred upon Colonel Neale. The distinctions given to Colonel Neale were not on account of what took place at Kagosima, but for the judgment and tact which he had displayed in conducting most difficult negotiations. Why they were not conferred upon Admiral Kuper was because there had been for a time a strong feeling in the country. yllear, hear, from the Opposition benches.) Her Majesty's Government thought it only reasonable Admiral Kuper should be enabled to give explanations, and he had no doubt some explana tions would be perfectly satisfactory. It would be unwise and ungenerous to pass such a resolution as this, which would be tantamount to a vote of censure, before those ex planations could be received. He had no doubt about the explanations, and that it would be shown that Admiral Kuper would not have burnt down the town if he could have avoided it. Then it had been insinuated that her Majesty's Government had felt no regret at this occurrence. The first think they did on hearing the news was to write a despatch in which they expressed their regret. That regret had been embodied in the Queen's Speech, had been re-echoed by the house, and deeply felt throughout the country. Not only had they expressed regret, but her Majesty's Government had done everything they could to prevent a recurrence of each disasters. (The hon. gentleman read extracts from the despatches in proof of the assertion.) Not only had her Majesty's Government end the house expressed their regret for what had occurred, but every precaution had been taken to prevent such a calamity in future. The resolution said that what had been done was " contrary to those usages of war which prevail among civilised nations." He would ven ture to say that this was not so. It was not contrary to the usages of war to bombard a town provided with batte ries as a means of defence against ships brought into col lision with it. The case was otherwise where a town had no defences. We did not in the Crimean war bombard Odessa because it had no batteries to attack our fleet. Of towns that had been bombarded by civilised nations he might mention Algiers, which was bombarded in 1816, Antwerp in 1830, Beyrout by the Turkish fleet, Acre in 1840 by the English, and Barcelona, by the Spanish Go vernment. The French bombarded Tangiers, a peaceful town, and the private property of the Emperor of Morocco, and allowed the Rabyle barbarians to come down upon it and sack it. Rome was bombarded in June and July, 1848, and in 1854 the Americans bombarded Greytown and burned it to the ground. Here there were no batteries to protect the town, yet the ships fired on it. In defence of this conduct the President of America said the arrogant contumacy of the inhabitants left no alternative but to break up their establishments, or leave them under the impres sion that they might pursue a career of lawlessness and plunder. What was taking place now in America ? Charles ton was being bombarded. (Hear.) That town had batte ries, certainly, but then the Federals were constantly throw. ing Greek ire and missiles into the town, We heard of women and children being killed there, yet some persons justified this mode of assault. (Disapprobation.) These bombardments were not merely carried on by sea. Last year we heard of the bombardment of Port Jackson, and the New York papers described, with apparent satisfaction, how the houses and public buildings were destroyed. (Hear, hear.) That was justified. (Opposition cheers.) He quoted these cases to prcvo that civilised nations considered the bombardment of towns as coming within the usages of war. (Hoar, hear.) When our ships were fired on at Kegosime , it was our duty to return the fire. (Hear.) No British admiral mild avoid doing so. (Hear, hear.) In this affair the papers would show that the admiral's conduct had met with the approval of the French. It was stated that the English had not been sufficiently concilia tr ry. The papers showed that the Americana had suffered severely by being too conciliatory. In the papers laid before Congress the American Minister at Japan said, " I have not been anxious until recently for the presence of a naval force, but my opinion has undergone a great change," and then he recornun laded the sending a naval force to Japan as neces sary for some time to preserve to the world what had been gained. Ho stated alto that it was the pretence of the Bri- tish Elect in those waters which brought recent troubles to a peaceful conclusion, (Cheers.) This was the recommen dation of the representative of a power which followed the policy recommended by the hon. member for Northumber land. That Minister's house was burned, and no notice taken of the matter by the authorities, and now he was compelled to admit that the American policy was a false one, and that the policy of England was the only one by which peaceful relations could be established with Japan. (General ap _ probation,) Were they to do as the Dutch did ? They gro velled on their bellies. Did they prosper? No, their posi- tion became so intolerable that they were obliged to give up their trade• (Hear.) Our agents were the beet judges of what should be done. Our trade, in consequence of the course adopted was rapidly increasing, and of the £7,000,000 and more invested in mercantile pursuits in Japan, more than half that amount was British. (Hear.) An attempt had been made to interfere with the silk trade, but in con sequence of the firm representations of Col. Neale the Go vernment removed the restrictions complained of. Our re lations with Japan were purely commercial. Our object was to carry out the views of the hon. gentleman (Mr. Bright) below the gangway. (Laughter.) If that hon. gentleman, instead of making exciting speeches in the country, would endeavour to impress moderation on his hearers, and advise them to give the Government credit for better intentions, he would be much more !useful. (Hear.) From what he (Mr. Layard) knew of the East he believed that most of our difficulties there were created by the British traders. A host of traders rushed into every market, rand they con sidered that the Government had nothing to do but to sup port them in their preposterous pretentious. He could not agree with the terms of the motion. If the hon. gentleman withdrew the words casting an imputation on Admiral Kuper, who had no opportunity of defending himself, he (Mr. Layard) would not oppose the motion, but if not he would move the previous question. (Hear, hear,) Sir J. ELPHINSTONE supported the amendment. Mr. W. E. FORSTER believed the destruction of that city was intentional, and ventured t) prophesy that when the explanations came from the other sid . e the only feeling would be one of astonishment that we had ever expected anything else than what had happened. The idea of shel ling the Prince's residence was suggested by the Minister at home, who ought to have known that it would have been almost impossible to do that without burning the town. He thought, however, the house should not endeavour to apportion the blame, but content itself with a simple ex pression of regret; and he recommended Mr. Buxton to as sent to the amendment. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL defended the conduct of the Government, and its political and military agents, in reference to the unhappy calamity that had befallen the city of Kagosima. Mr. WHITESIDE attached the entire blame to the Foreign Secretary, upon whose instructions the city had been bombarded. The question at issue was, whether this country itself intended to practise those principles of huma nity which it was ever so ready to advise all other nations to adopt. If we maintained such acts as had been done in this case our laurels would be tarnished, and in vain should we represent ourselves to the world us the most humane people on the face of the earth. Lord PALMERSTON--The right hon. and learned gen- tleman said that there was one point which had not been adverted to by my hon, and learned friend—via., the double demand which has been made in Japan. Now, Sir, it is un necessary to travel over ground which was so ably gone over by my hon. friend the Under Secretary, and my hon. and learned friend the Attorney-General. But I must say, in the first place, that the treaty with Japan was in my opinion a wise and useful arrangement. (Hear, hear.) I be lieve I may appeal to the other side to bear me out in that (Hear, hear.) It was concluded with the treaty-making power of that country. Although there is a division of autho rity in Japan, there being a spiritual chief, the Mikado. as well as the Tycoon, yet there is no doubt whatever that the Tycoon is the treaty-making and governing power, and that was admitted by the Prince of Satsuma iu a conversa tion with Col. Nettle, in which he said, "The Tycoon was to blame when he made that treaty for not having inserted in it a clause giving to Daimios exclusive possession of the roads in which they might make their proceesions." (Hear, hear.) Well, that treaty has been in force now for several years, we have appealed to it in cases in which we consi dered its provisions not duly carried out, and it has never been urged in reply that it was not binding because it had not received the sanction of the Mikado. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, I dismiss altogether the doubts as to the bind ing nature of the treaty as having been made only by the Tycoon. I think no man cast doubt that British subjects, both officials and private merchatets, having been subjected to repeated acts of outrage, attempted and perpetrated in Japan, it would have been unbecoming, unfitting, and cri minal in the British Government to allow' those outrages to pass unpunished without demanding reparatism or redress. We should have been exposing our fellow-subjects in Japan, resorting thither under the stipulations of the treaty, to the murderous caprice of these Daimios and their retaineala who, as my hon. friend stated, exercised such undisputed sway in the country that when they purchased a new sword and want to try the edge, they sally forth into the streets and cut down the first person they meet there. It was ne cessary, therefore, for the security of our fellow-subjects and the honour of the country that satisfaction should be de manded for these outrages. But then lam asked, " Why have you demanded satisfaction both from the Tycoon's Government and from the Daimio, by whose retainers these particular outrages were committed ?" The fact was this—there was a double default. (Hear.) The Tycoon's Government were bound to give security to British subjects within the range of" their authority. This outrage was com menced within the range of their authority. It was commit ted upon the road called the Tokaido, which hsd been ex pressly assigned for the use or' British subjects, in order that they might take their exud there without molesta tion.e,: It was the duty of the Tycoon' s Government, if they knew that a body of the Daimio's retainer:' were going in procession along the road on a given day, and it' they knew and expected that any meeting between the procees.:en and British subjects might lead to violence, I say it was iNir duty in such a case to have stationed guards upon the road in order to protect Europeans. (Hear, hear.) We are there fore justly entitled to require from the Tycoon's Government a sum sufficient to operate as a fine upon them for not afford ing proper protection to British subjects in a place in which OUT countrymen were entitled to be. (Hear.) We were also entitled to demand the punishment of the retainers who had committed the outrages. But the Tycoon's Government said We are unable to afford this redress. These Daimios are so powerful, that they defy our authority. We cannot get you satisfaction; if you want it you must go to the Daimio and get it yourself." Then we demanded, in the first place satisfaction from the Government for their fault in not taking those precautions which they might have taken, and which it was their duty to take ; and we demanded satisfaction from the Daimio whose retainers committed the outrage by which a British subject had so 'grievously suffered. And really, when we are told by the hon. member who moved the amend ment that this was:a sort of chance medley, a casual encoun ter, which was below notice on the part of the British Go vernment, I do not think we should have been justified, and I am sure the.nation would not have thought us justified, in holing the lives of British subjects so cheap. (Hear, hears) Sir, I cannot compliment the hon. member upon s the good taste he showed in that part of his speech. (Hear.) Well, then, satisfaction was demanded and satisfaction was granted by the Tycoon's Government, who consents's' to pay the sum we required. But Prince Satsuma refused. Were we to submit to his refusal, or compel him to give us that redress to which we were so justly entitled ? I say that we should have failed in our duty if we had not resorted to the means which were at our disposal for the purpose of com pelling this brutal Daimio to give us satisfaction for the outrage. (Hear, hear.) It was not simply for the purpose of punishing him—it was for the purpose of deterring others from these murders, and were se frequently attempted, and which had in some cases unfortunately been actually com mitted. (Hear, hear.) Why, the attack upon our Lega tion, the murder of two sentries at the door of the Legation on another occasion—both of those atrocities were committed by the retainers of Dainties who were specially employed by the Tycoon's Government to protect the very people whom they so barbarously attacked and, in some cases, murdered. It was necessary for the protection of British subjects that these Daimios should be taught that although they might set at defiance the authority of the Tycoon, they could not with impunity commit outrages upon British subjects, (Hear, hear.) Akmiral Kuper was therefore ordered, in case redress was refused, to use force in order to obtain it. My noble friend at the head of the Foreign-office gave in structions not simply on his own authority, but instructions sanctioned by the Government, and for which I tab as full a responsibility as any that can attach to him. (Hear.) I entirely approved at the time, I entirely approve now, of the course which my noble friend took; and I say that it was the only course which was consistent with his duty as a Minister of the Crown, and as representing the interests of this country abroad. (Hear, hear.) Did my noble friend saytHhee leftt‘ e ‘ wG town t and atno dt h b pe u e rrdtni discretion ee d tni e eg f n e i nn of f e t l t o e h se; admiral r t i o n w e e n ?" Satsuma, No either s t such orcbh t at c h ek i a n d d g e stroy his forts and his ca s tl e if t h at could be ea sily done. Admiral Kuper performed his duty as a British officer ought to perform it. He did not begin an attack upon the forts. He demanded satisfaction, and parleyed for two days with the envoys of Prince Satsuma. As my hon. friend (Mr. La) ard) said, they twice tried by acts of treachery first to inveigle him and Colonel Neale ashore, and we know pretty well what would have happened to them there ; and next to surprise the vessel, and take it by asking permis sion to bring 40 armed retainers on board. This leave was given, but a party of marines of equal force was ranged opposite to them, and then they thought it better to re embark in their boat, without carrying out the object for which they had °erne prepared. After two days spent in negotiation, Admiral Kuper sent to take possession of the steamers by way of reprisal, and if Prince Satsuma had yielded to our demands those steamers would have been released, and no harm would have been done to his forts or to the town. But while these steamers were in the pos session of our ships the forts opened fire upon the British squadron. I trust there is no man in this house who will maintain that, when a British admiral commanding a squad ron is fired at by a foreign battery, it is not his duty to re turn the fire and to teach the enemy that British ships are not to be insulted and attacked with impunity. Well, then, Admiral Kuper was compelldd to burn the steamers, in order that his shipa might be free for action, XII tlio course of ....-, .---' egtet -.........-, that action the town was set on fire, and W e deePi e l 'tt r 417 this incident. But the house must recollect there s a tances wader which the action took place. tso ,b le i violent gale. The ships were firing i. u ~ as re sea, It is one thing to fire at an object whenr.7, 0, your gun upon a - fixed platform, as on shoe; It 1 % is different thing to fire at an object when your gil l ' . t g i io ship rolling in the waves, when at y•ever 0 1013ae f h t A I pois t ' 4 , its position, and when the aim you take s no t "' ii v ileo' which the shot strikes. When in addition t ° 10 0 storm they had the smoke and hsat of scat:toot the house will see- it was impossible to be sure 01 _ 0 , 6 5 world not go over /he batteries and fall i e9 n ibolo t ° ,:cuo t o:itoes v , b l, il o iti rti tli mo l ; my hon. friend has stated, in all human Pr°l)ll4itti4t, population of that town had received notice to 4 ,.. 0 ,bi' habitations, a.nd very few of them were in the ho se je la' were burnt. Vre know that when questions srlosole ir and other places it wa,s recognised as a sigl i °f j i p, tentions on the part of the Government that thtla-thereill peveryeo population pl e reason o f i ci a u gt i oc e st hopeli d a saan that "t d ' pthesair:tetdivlaefrrry7faerwtahiwecet:r:lviiiisie,:b to when the conflagration took p lace ' T°wns iiijaPatts:l;t tjle° the frailest possible materials . a tis l(° 6 I islands are subject to frequent an"' severe e - o tlIC s o lid - t : tr people cannot, dare not, build their' ho use : should slenilts,llll t rials, lest the shock of the earthicl down. They are built of wood, ofili which yield to the oscillations of an earthOluZ time/fro ple in which our Legation was housed at 'l'. 110 ° 4 ' that murderous attack was made upon the° tePti,4" paper partitions, and when the raerabers of th je;4lerl' were drawn up fu one room they thought thesievbapirt; that their assailants did not come to there throng...Lae, titions, instead of winding along the tortuous Pr o dor; b which they were ultimately expelled. Is# io t t otiog o burning of the town w as not the result of 01431015°,, the part of Admiral Jiawer, but was merely ill' oi be gno; action which was not brought on by us, h ut , I ti ld °, 4 ,, ittApho h hohhiadr e aeeadotimt Japanese, and upon which the from ,-4 Ids point of honour and of du t y, refrain frota oil t ` - o adt Or 0 Let nn ahl i bih n ieeveirx g eoeat:la t bd h notafd e yutß fi hpth r rihe e sierat ir o tsste f hohdt e t aod b lsielinu e e: ebedbnjrcasetottchtwthteessiehicriies:whns: . ettoilteis vhB ( , 11:9.8atn?hbr.ipi::. t ) ::::i# l_ ,:sti neh t tlere z : i:ep 8 to I iiti riiitt4oo i,f , vi so. The object was to teach We Dairei o I I to e i whichagainst gtpou w i wen h : a aa t ini r ed e d m pnr a ao i t n bua e r d bally o l yf extended town tp e erne daeddti ►; ilt eo e ; ve tt ';‘. sgr eic: sti fo i e otoi e tt i; result. Viol!, %i s le t. , are a called en tireluypocnoatcoasral;itthae ': 0 : 11 :0 1 0e, , ti :e , 4 , but it has been already expressed in the West form -4 ) i ltoimf. h n anhonaroge t arrer h eem,eo pp e flolefyt S sasoht p atrtai y e mfono e ,gart c hof her Majesty's Session,hm ilaya that a l s manner lpeesp a es and ds formal.s has is this house a nrt h enu o a . e u a d ra s ° : P ti a tit : fse d ost t rr i/ vi : ° : 1 1 ,01 : ar: 1 1: 11 0 0; 0 ;:; ° 0 ! icpsoornienslidties-uatunithmaenorevdeudc,ianiagdtwhehimehottion by the uille ue ll' se l J o6 ne.fuonawrttmiinoraenllsy c e.n e p d taw t r o tiat t kh w et o ho p fe o iut in T t a s ne - ldp r tr e he g a n o r tt e o i t te d he ao i t i o t f b u hte o , :we viic a e l lif :: : ' : o9 oti :: o6: l ,, town, and an opinion that the bourbardraent e' oog e t r ie Having disposed of the regret 11 °lll-edfoot rT e hfhd n ahmae t tteda w rta. nehtns i iyesca t os h eornopornestt t mrshii h awo.i a n s e a r er e b x io p i r l e t s h se a d t tthheatbfoemelbtgrd, ril l :w ilt ? o r: 0 9) truth tbf . a rr ot ' w b ai s o a l m ui r s . e a u ui practice s m n e o r tabl innumerable correct-itn atcivilisedauce is 0:0:ott:c°84013111,::::15,0 civilised practicel unfortunately oeeserthstea.evHeofbiseit:oonza:lernetddaidroyeeng lotrci°o:oBtiot,r" o id tiottote ,J., " o f 0: 1: show rt i u os n ai ately not unusual. Therefore, t° afr o je scribed as historica ot l eu r nl e dt c w o b r ei used nations has been such; I think it lad .. . r e° , stsit - e flol n it o i t imitate it, and it is not our practice. w 1 e ,, , - o b o , 1 0 ' 0 11 0 dt h dei t r h ecl e t u llye s m uil ao p tt r rtsr se he y ri p ee t rs t : b oti o e fie hc ol i ; i i kne n w theßussian war, as in the case of ° ',. o oot iji ,, contained magazines of various ail ad frot o : ! I t' supply of the Russian army ; but we ahs tui° as ° P :O f ing Odessa, which was not a fortified WO' of tis„001 would not be in accordance with the feeli:s.: t): :° I . gi s to to a r t e t s ack an undefended town, even againstthe bombardment w u h si .ch woul do of towns w n useful u isl to at v h a i sa ri : n o r e 0 b ; f00011 p1 0 , to ti ; to deP ri' ige d er , of a civilised nations peny that aT: g hd r de e or e ceaefrore , I i t cannot n a no t practice eee e p to thef which ttut : e o f :::: i cil ( l i t i r f: : iningtetnmteireolyf twheert,rititehra:::::;de o::: 1 3m i eensattiicssefitmanelindatdilwytehi teahrmtheane n o t io t nng d e iewsophdoisceehdp has ratio: pu f rpo o e l c 1 : 0 : i . :0 00 0 0:1c::: that Id f,: :: (Hear.) I should IWO A ll/i e d in °f e iti r o f No I think, has maintained that it 1 0 - P ope to 1 11 ought one, d. estruy t i o n g b e the housesfollowed taondbopmrobaerrdtytooWintstoroot. orAve;:,,, innocent persons ; but nobody P n dent iJ s-i do 0 11 4 - 0 1 ' 4 suit of a conflict between attackingca force s ° ,.i il- ess i 1 01 , - d en oe,; ' ing forces inside, it is one of thoseincidstn, se t v ii tll which l are among the calamities attaching boaneici Lions. Therefore I hope my hon. friend Ill' 1 . 4 fOr i' dic i,iP aving obtained an admission of the Priulloa°tl,ool'l°ol contends,as it and not be disposed to press hisoal..vail . to efi t .t , t would be surplusage to express regre.4boanoeo,; contrary to historical fact to say that to . e , 0 , ' . . 0 4 l towns is not practised among civilized ne 3l° 4 , tA ' t Vi e/1 g amendment is disposed of I should preP°s4 h ot motion with the previous question ; V it i- t t i s o' 9 o lo' woted withdraw it, I think it woul d : se t of termination of a discussion the tone sur; t o 4 . or'' must have been satisfactory to hina. ( ' -ee till) e itlC Mr. BUJ. TON expressed his desire, agoo regret which had fallen from the noble I°l4 ' ~,,,,,, his motion. LordThThee AyeshhpoouuA s sL e e. , me then . Ehowever,R d s i , divided. dissented from t I/ i 1 I Pg' o tiO 9 d e un ..,„1400 , i ° de N d. moved e ................................. :6011, Noes ................... . .... • ............ , :... Majority for the Governineri,: 0 . The original motion therefgre droPPeuaxosl,oo, APPEAL IN CRIIOSAII aise,p 6 ! el / 11 0 tro on the motion of Sir F. SELLS, leave ;io sru' aj or . duce a bill providing a further 51 3 1 3 " :5. ja/S tS. and for the further amendment of the AO o °l criminal law. Mr. NEWDEGATE asked a 0 blued CIIURCIi ILAT , 000'1'0 ,10 the commutation . of church raltees:e tl9 / 3 11 :0 1110°911$°°' °ti stance the same as he had introduced lasocioitt 1 trusted the house would allow him to fli ts lii 1 0 Leave was given to bring in the h ill .,.v ,fri le Ir r wLOAitIsOBFyTGROBILSP/I.E 013Staednet$010 er t° aS ° a Mr. billto a . mend the law of trespass in °el 4 land. Al4Oll '((lff CHAIN CABLES AND "• e a ce Mr. LAIRD obtained leave to introdnu so 0 os , lating the proving and sale of chain nsb l „ T eB D), $ C BANK ACT (SOTIJA; ftbesof 0 On the motion of the C.FIANCOrI)ot:/litirt, resolve into it was ordered that the hose' - t o f so° io te into a committee on the Del: ti A° apt tP On ni t tg h t the enm,taohnt the bill. of Mr . F. Bl'in the 11 SUPPLY. booligeteljes6:oo The re S p l o lt rt o j c to om br in i nobarglhlrr.Ne subjecti j t s o v a vßov,tE, a s e s o efcgarleePat 0 ,At 1 ~ A• 00 :410,0; i 0 1 The house adjourned at tan minu te° r A ri‘ r tlf - /1) wee ,i' i rillß pp ' th e D e' (AnvEirrisEmExT.]----TiollosvaP it Oh" ,jo PL . ' 13 cheerless, indeed, is the present 003°,.°7:0 page fe,;'elY, deaths are far above the average. 'viiiiolll9- I) diffused through the dull, damp ft s t bell ic° toe h w il ,ti) l' il d , l prevalent of late. These pills lirpa e l , 13 gsr oie .‘; ooliu tb - ° it ost r ce es o i: i o tm Ors t : been contaminated by foul gaseS, hipaniwoe/4 nervous system, whereby tYPhus; ;ii 0 Pitk dier. bilious fevers are warded off. best known promoters of digestion, the liver, and the most valued and eile o f ISPe ri, When the health is impaired witb' loee 00 0 and sleep, this medicine will he found° and w ill rarely fail to effect a our 0 1 ' 11 ~ilie -- , Births- ic•r. to°: 00 peat- tone, FENWICS-On the 9th inst., s at t rot vs of C KELSEY. -On the 9th inst., rofo OOP 0 5 ' 0 61 K 1 of Claphara-park, tha Wife 14 I' C. R. Fenwick, Esq., a u.; egrettO r he 11°1 1S Esq., of a son. wife of David Munro, Esq. of a ej° e b, the 0 SCOTT.-On the 7th inst., at' Edinb n P " ° I Murrßo-On the Bth lust., at Totterilid. potli Scott, of a son. r ebi 0 01 1 , r j Marriages' Tlitjdot4 ttl ; Di t. tit voallytiO ifill Docoar-Brusco.-0n the Bt h .do- d B ? , ; f o 'o o church, Cumberland, George ---, c gs, 1 4 CrO tlf the late John Dixon, Egl., 0i P 130., v ~,,,,,V daughter of Sir Robert Branc o ' at rorote,(lso Cumberland.ol in st.', 4 ,, bs i til e P 11.11.inFILY-Knociu.--On the,S u OP inst.', °f Church, Euniskerry, Jame s 7, e r t &l ug-- law to Mary Josephine, e. u;i.pallrt P 4' Hon. Mr. Justice lieogli, 13° I fi e.' l iP Deaths•ooor, . s". "ElbeA Pri REAL.-On the 6th inst., a t 1359 0 DO I ' oP late of Exeter, aged 0. aged Two Thaws.-On the 7th inst, g . a 6. • Pl eli P P Hotel, Jerrayn-street, age itt ro bri- !gel -, HunsoNa-On the Bth insrt.,, 1. ; lA, ;oato4 eir °P , , 0004 ,c, LyGoar.-On the sth inst., at 14 Lacy Louisa Won. t 34, 6111'1, t A po LITTLE. -On the Sth fr15,r;1.5,q., AV— opO r ' ,JS , D George Isaac liudson, late P . t o '-dpper Or frier Bermondsey, Thomas L' l ' il - ; stelret ' arref'faios MENDS. -On the 7th i" dB 4 . loot lie William B. Mends, age t sow lot , i di. THYNNE.---On the , 7th Wt., tporge-P ,e , 7 , ,ta f 11 Gr est lO'' i'' Thynn, Esq., 0 , __-- „;ft , ,aisa ~c 4 i l aged 59. '-141'11Y00 01 ----- hi ,- -of 0 ____—__—_ blisacd at $ tac London: rrinted and rr . _ , if. , 1. 0 so _ , , 0 of No. 112, Strand, Friate_rt t he 3, odsoi. Strand, in the rrcener ;,a,saall 1 311441c0ex_.-•. 1 1 111P IIR tt trolpiTr IniN T , ru 1 41, 11, 00 R,, r ' e j . ;„ I "zyn i ,fin, A d .pa and ttq l , o,;ele t{ ' C hit are res 4 -114 ;" 4 1 ROus o t 'ads, 4 a 4 eBti , T„ . T A wel lA i et. wi th Y 4b le itt kqt C i cit be (1 ( :1 ithp ze st nti B a q 1 • ren ' )r, 11 3a1e,, 4. thka, ttl," d ° \ 'Loud a° t 4 hatE lm ee la tor kla eir te t k' it tile Y ) ,19, t i Z e e t t . , 4 tillikt Y 1 , 1 )44,;N , p() tiootj Lt h ,ts4' tp, 'Re r q 1 6 01 he rit b ?c 0 , AAA'O4I 1 4 DI h"ab 'oil